This invention relates to fluid vaporizing and homogenizing devices, to systems for vaporizing and homogenizing fluids, and more particularly to medical devices and systems for producing finely homogenized or vaporized gas-phase fluid mixtures.
Many types of devices have been developed over the years for the purpose of converting liquids or aerosols into gas-phase fluids. Many such devices have been developed to prepare fuel for use in internal combustion engines. To optimize fuel oxidation within an engine""s combustion chamber, the fuel/air mixture commonly must be further vaporized or homogenized to achieve a chemically-stoichiometric gas-phase mixture. Ideal fuel oxidation results in more complete combustion and lower pollution.
More specifically, relative to internal combustion engines, stoichiometricity is a condition where the amount of oxygen required to completely burn a given amount of fuel is supplied in a homogeneous mixture resulting in optimally correct combustion with no residues remaining from incomplete or inefficient oxidation. Ideally, the fuel should be completely vaporized, intermixed with air, and homogenized prior to entering the combustion chamber for proper oxidation. Non-vaporized fuel droplets generally do not ignite and combust completely in conventional internal and external combustion engines, which presents problems relating to fuel efficiency and pollution.
Another problem, different from applications of vortex technology to internal combustion engines, relates to the extreme vaporization needed for various medications administered via inhalers. An inhaler typically produces a liquid/gas mixture of the medication for inhaling directly into the lungs. Problems have arisen, however, in that the high degree of vaporization required for directly passing the medication through the lungs into the bloodstream has been difficult to achieve. That is, excess amounts of the medication remain liquefied, rather than being further broken down into smaller molecular size particles, for passing immediately through the lungs into the bloodstream. A need exists, therefore, to develop certain vaporization devices that will further vaporize and homogenize liquid/gas mixtures into a vapor of sufficiently small vapor particles for administering medication directly into the bloodstream via the lungs.
Prior art devices have employed vortex chambers wherein fluid is introduced into a gas passing through a cylindrical chamber with a vortex action. These vortex chambers have smooth, cylindrical inner walls. A smooth vortex chamber inner wall construction may limit the degree of turbulence within a given chamber and the effective rate of vaporization within the vortex chambers.
Another perceived shortcoming of prior devices is their inability to compensate for differential pressures at the various inlets leading to the vortex chamber. As the gas/fluid mixture passes through the various vortex chambers, additional gas is tangentially added in each chamber which causes a pressure differential at the various inlets. By supplying ambient air at all of these inlets to the vortex chamber, it has been difficult to maintain an optimal gas-to-fluid ratio as the mixture passes through the vortex chambers.
Yet another aspect of the pressure differential problem associated with prior known devices is that there is a tendency for the vortex chambers positioned closer to the low pressure end of the flow path (for example, closer to the engine manifold) to dominate the other vortex chambers by receiving substantially more flow. This tendency is particularly noticeable and problematic during periods of engine acceleration. As the vortex chambers closer to low pressure end of the flow path dominate the other vortex chambers, the effectiveness of the other vortex chambers is significantly reduced.
The prior centrifuge vaporization devices also have certain limitations, such as being too voluminous, failing to effectively introduce fluid into the centrifuge chamber tangentially, unnecessarily inhibiting the drawing power of the engine manifold vacuum, and unevenly discharging the centrifuge contents into the engine manifold.
Yet another problem concerning prior cyclone vaporization devices is that they have failed to appreciate or utilize the advantages associated with adjustable vortex chamber output ports and adjacent chambers of different diameters.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need to develop a centrifugal vortex system that solves or substantially alleviates the above-discussed limitations associated with known prior devices. There is a need to develop a centrifugal vortex system with a vortex chamber that enables a more optimal turbulent flow, that more completely breaks down liquid into smaller sized particles of vapor fluid, and that normalizes the flow through the various apertures formed in the vortex chamber housing. There is a further need to provide a centrifugal vortex system that more optimally premixes air and fuel prior to introducing the air/fuel mixture into the vortex chamber. Another need exists to provide a low-volume centrifuge apparatus that more optimally mixes, vaporizes, homogenizes, and discharges more minutely sized molecular vapor particles into an engine manifold, from an inhaler-type medicinal administration device, and to/from other desired applications.
It is an object of the invention to provide a vortex chamber that enables a more optimal turbulent flow and which substantially eliminates the formation of liquid orbital rings on the inner walls within the vortex chamber.
Another object of the invention is to provide a vortex chamber housing with a stepped inner wall surface for increasing the turbulence of fluid flowing through the vortex chamber.
Another object of the invention is to provide a vortex chamber housing with an irregular or textured inner wall surface for increasing the turbulence of fluid flowing through the vortex chamber.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pressure differential supply, such as a tapered air-feed channel formed perhaps by a jacket, to equalize the amount of flow entering several input apertures formed in a vortex chamber.
Another object of the invention is to provide a series of tangentially oriented baffles associated with a centrifuge chamber to form a series of tangential passageways into the centrifuge chamber to enhance the centrifugal flow of fluid in the centrifuge chamber.
Another object of the invention is to increase turbulence within the vortex chamber by reducing the chamber volume and by employing a centrifuge vertical wall with a height less than the maximum inside diameter of an associated venturi.
Another object of the invention is to provide a more optimal turbulence within a vortex chamber and to achieve improved vaporization by causing a vortical flow to spin in alternative, opposite spin directions as the vortical flow passes from one vortex chamber to an adjacent vortex chamber.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device for breaking down a vapor/gaseous mixture into more minute sized particles on a molecular scale for medical applications. Still another object of the invention is to produce a device that allows a vapor/liquid mixture to be broken down into extremely small sized particles such that the particles pass immediately and directly through the lungs into a person""s bloodstream.
In one embodiment, the inner wall of the vortex chamber housing is stepped or textured, or both, to enhance the turbulence of a flow through the vortex chamber. In another embodiment, several stages of vortex chambers are used.
In still another embodiment, a deceleration chamber is fluidly coupled to at least one vortex chamber, the deceleration chamber to allow the gas/fluid mixture to fully homogenize, and also allows for separation when the present invention is used for fluid separation, for example desalinization.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.